Developing Online Courses/Blended Learning Initiatives with KEEP

(Last updated on 2 July 2021)

Important Notes on Obtaining Ethical Clearance for your Proposal

Guidelines (with sample screenshots) for Obtaining Ethical Clearance from the Research Ethics Committee (Download here!)

You must submit your proposal to the Human (non-clinical) Research Ethics Panel to obtain ethics/safety clearance in parallel while the TDG Panel is reviewing your application. The TDG Secretariat will confirm that you have obtained clearance from the said Panel after the review. Please note that TDG cannot support any project without ethical clearance. You are strongly advised to follow the above Guidelines for the procedures and an example of applying for ethical clearance from the REC.

Depending on when your proposal will be finally approved, the actual start and completion dates of your project may differ from your proposed ones.

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Introduction

Providing more cross-cultural learning opportunities to our students and promoting internationalisation are the priorities in the Institutional Strategic Plan 2018-2028. In this light, our University has been promoting blended learning and developing partnership with overseas universities.

Developing Small Private Online Courses (SPOCs) and other blended learning initiatives are good examples of such endeavours, through which our students can learn alongside their peers in other universities with different cultural backgrounds. Teachers can also co-teach with overseas partners, opening up more opportunities for joint programmes.

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Seed Funding for Initial Establishment

To provide incentive and support in setting up a new SPOC, teachers can apply their innovative blended learning ideas and put together a proposal for a seed funding managed by the TDG Panel. Up to HKD200,000 can be allocated for each successful proposal. Proposals will be processed on a first come, first serve basis, until the fund is exhausted.

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Application Form

Please complete an application form and submit to Dr. Theresa Kwong (theresa@hkbu.edu.hk), Secretary to the TDG Panel.

SPOC Application Form

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Selection Criteria

At least one partner in a non-local university/organistation must be identified at the time of application. Each SPOC should have a minimum duration of 3 weeks. Teachers are however not expected to produce a 13-week SPOC like the regular lectures.

Each proposal will be evaluated by three reviewers based around the following criteria:

  • Ways to facilitate students to learn alongside their peers in other overseas institution(s)
  • Ways to facilitate co-teaching with overseas partner(s)
  • Intended outcomes of the proposed SPOC(s)/blended learning initiatives
  • Project design including the implementation details and timeline
  • Budget plan
  • Ways to evaluate effectiveness and collect evidence of success
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KEEP as Platform

KEEP is chosen to be our SPOC platform starting from AY2022/23 as it has already established a number of courses with other universities. With such a well-established connection, it provides us with an effective platform to collaborate with potential and existing overseas partners. To explore the learning environment under this platform, please enrol in any free online courses through: https://keep.edu.hk/.

Examples include:

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Showcase of HKBU Online Courses

Please visit: http://chtl.hkbu.edu.hk/main/onlinecourse/.

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Enquiries

For any enquiries, please feel free to contact Dr Theresa Kwong, Director of the CHTL (ext.8083, email: theresa@hkbu.edu.hk)

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FAQ

Funding Application
Applications will be processed on a first come, first serve basis, until the fund is exhausted
It is not a must for you to partner with another non-local university at the time of application. Yet, you should have a plan for partnership and are required to identify at least one partner in any non-local institution before commencement of SPOC development.
It is recommended that each SPOC to have a minimum duration of 3 weeks. You are not expected to produce a 13-week SPOC like your regular lectures.
The seed funding can only be spent on HKBU endeavours to support your SPOC development. E.g. staff recruitment, purchasing equipment for experiments in HKBU. Part of the funding could be allocated to travelling expenses for site visit to discuss collaborative activities with partners in other institutions.
As the copyright owner, you can upload your materials to any platform as necessary. However, you must be aware of any terms and conditions in the KEEP that restricted the SPOCs materials from spreading elsewhere.
Copyright Issues
Professional assistance and coordination may be provided from the Library, KTO and CHTL, including templates for the request of copyright from the intellectual property owners.
The consent from the students should be obtained beforehand. You could license Creative Commons for your students before uploading their works to provide copyright protection for the students while allowing the materials to be used freely.
As the copyright owner, you can upload your materials to any platform as necessary. However, you must be aware of any terms and conditions in the KEEP that restricted the SPOCs materials from spreading elsewhere.
Others
A venue with equipment and appropriate software has already been set up by the CHTL to facilitate production of these online courses.
Professional assistance or advices on the initial establishment or development of the SPOC can be sought from the CHTL. Please contact the CHTL via email (chtl@hkbu.edu.hk) or by phone on 3411-5351.
This is not recommended as students will then have to register 2 accounts before submission of the assignments.
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